title: The results of treatment of carcinoma of the uterine cervix using a linear vaginal source and 4 MV X rays.
abstract: Between 1960 and 1976, 1645 women with carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated in the Radiotherapy Department, Edinburgh. In the earlier years the majority of patients were treated using a partially afterloaded radium line source system, combined with 4 MV external irradiation. The radium was later replaced by caesium which, from 1972, was used in a fully afterloaded line source intracavitary applicator. In recent years a computer program has been used to calculate the dose distribution, resulting in improved pelvic dosimetry and a decline in the frequency and severity of radiation reactions. Actuarial survival rates are reported by stage for a 20-year period. The 5-year survival rate for patients with Stage I disease treated by the Edinburgh method was 74.7% (71.5% for the whole group). For patients with Stage II disease, the rates were 57.1% and 51.3% and for those with Stage III disease, the rates were 40.1% and 28.0%.
mesh_terms: D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000379:methods; D003201:Computers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*